Kite



Feb. 4, 1964 Filed June 22, 1962 S. A. RICE, JR

KITE

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR STUART A. RICE Jr.

ATTORNEY S. A. RICE, JR

Feb. 4, 1964 KITE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 22, 1962 INVENTOR STUART A. RICE ,Jr.

FIG. 8.

ATTORNEY United States Patent The present invention is a kite of unique construction, which tests have established, will soar higher than any known kite and is air-borne with a minimum of air thrust.

Objects of this invention are to provide a so-called suspension tension kite, in that rigid components of the kite frame or body are connected by tension lines which, in elfect, hold the components in suspension; to provide a kite which is strong, of light-weight, and may be flexible; to provide a kite which is completely collapsible, permitting it to be rolled into a cylindrical package for convenience in transportation and storage; to provide a kite including a body with said parts, unconnected to provide air passages, one or more of the sails being angular, resulting in multi-directional thrusts to expedite flight movement and automatically adjust the kite attitude for higher flight ascendency; and to provide a kite which may be made in various sizes from a few inches to many feet in length and of comparable span to obtain optimum results.

Prior art:

US. Pat. No. 1,579,473, Dahl, Apr. 6, 1926 US. Pat. No. 2,386,762, Wheelwright, Oct. 16, 1945 US. Pat. No. 2,941,765, Feldman, June 21, 1960 Other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following description of the present preferred form of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a kite constructed in accordance with the present invention, illustrating its attitude in flight;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the kite of the present invention in flight;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the kite of the present invention, omitting the kite line and guys;

FIG. 4 is a top plan View of the same;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, also with kite line and guys omitted;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a detail fragmentary view, showing the manner of connecting a corner of one of the sails to one end of a spar; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the spars, one of the terminal eye caps of which is sectioned.

In the drawings, the frame or body of the kite is advantageously illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 5, and basically, includes two parallelly arranged side spars 1t), an intermediate spar 11, and a spacer rod 12. A substantial portion of the frame is' covered by a three-part sail secured to the spars and rod in a novel manner. The parts of the sail are designated 13, which is the top sail, and 14, which are twin bottom sails. The marginal edge of the top sail is equipped with a tension cord 15. The end of each of the spars 1t? and 11, and spacer rod 12 carries a socket 16, with an eye 17 on its closed end. The tension cord is trained through the eyes 17 on the forward ends of spars 1d, the opposite ends of the spacer rod 12 and aft end of the spar 11, and secured thereto as indicated at 18. The aft intermediate margins of the topsail 13 are anchored to intermediate parts of the spars It), as indicated at 19. A supplemental tension cord 15 is anchored to the eyes 17 in the forward ends of spars 10. This cord is secured to the underface of the top sail 13 and converges at the aft end of the intermediate spar 11, where it is anchored in the eye 17 on the spar. This results in 3,12%,35? Patented Feb. 4, 1964 a triangular intermediate part, which forms the apex of the kite frame.

The front end of spar 11 lies at a point appreciably below the spacer rod 12, midway the ends of the latter, as shown to advantage in FIG. 3. This spar slants upwardly from front to back, so that its aft end is higher, when the kite is not in flight, than the spars 1t and spacer rod 12. The spar 11 extends through the longitudinal axis of the kite, upwardly in back of tie spacer rod 12, between the spars 119, as also advantageously illustrated in FIG. 3.

The twin bottom sails 14 each are formed in the shape of a triangle, the larger ends of the sails being anchored in the front of the kite, to the opposite ends of the spacer rod 12 and the forward end of the spar 11. The aft ends of the sails 14 are anchored to the aft ends of the spars 113. The marginal edge of each of the sails 14 is equipped with an auxiliary tension cord 24 each of which is trained through md secured to the eye 17, on the forward end of the intermediate spar 11, and the eyes 17, at the ends of the spacer rod 12. In order to assist in retention of the aft end of the intermediate spar 11 in its predetermined position, anchoring cord 21 is used. An intermediate part of this cord is trained through and secured to the eyes 17 on the aft end of the intermediate spar 11 and the ends of the cord trained through and secured to the eyes 17 on the aft ends of spars 10.

The auxiliary tension cords 219 are trained through and secured to the eyes 17 on the aft ends of the spars 10. The sails 14 are straight and uninterrupted from front to back. The top sail 13, however, is interrupted by reason of its engagement with the intermediate part of spars 16 to provide an angular sail, the top of which is flat and each side of which is formed into an obtuse angle, the lower part or panel of which extends directly above the forward ends of the twin bottom sails 14. The upper portions of the sides of the top sail 13, above the spars 10 are superposed over intermediate parts of the bottom sails 4, running fore and aft.

The sail parts are preferably flexible, made of plastic or other suitable material, held under tension by the tension cords 15, 15' and 2t anchored to the rigid parts of the kite frame, as herein shown and described.-

A kite line 22 is provided, one end of which issues into a plurality of guys 23, the free ends of the guys being anchored to the eyes 17 on the ends of the spacer rod 12 and to the eyes on the forward ends of the spars 19. A separate guy 24 leads from the kite line to the auxiliaries 25, the free ends of which latter are secured to the eyes 17 on the aft ends of the spars 10.

In flying the kite, draft on the kite line 22 exerts a pulling pressure on the opposite ends of the spacer rod 12, fore and aft ends of the spars 1t and aft end of the intermediate spar 11. The attitude of the kite, when airborne, is substantially as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing. Air enters the mouth of the kite and passes through the latter, contacting the various panels of the top and twin bottom sails, creating lift which varies, depending upon the force of the wind. Because of the construction of the present kite, it is air-borne under minimum wind conditions. The kite flys at a high angle, somewhat after the fashion shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, and is very stable in flight, as a result. The air, in passing through the kite body, is partly discharged through the bottom at a point between the proximate margins of the twin bottom sails and also laterally between the upper lateral margins of the twin bottom sails and the lateral margins of the top sail, as well as through the converged passageway at the aft end of the kite formed by the angularity of the top sail.

It has been found that the peculiar angular arrangement of the sails results in marked aerodynamic advantages, even in small kites. Actual tests have established that r 3 kites of this construction will soar to a height beyond the vision of the human eye.

Furthermore, the construction of a kite in accordance with the present invention lends itself to expeditious collapsing and folding, for convenience in transportation and storage. By disengagement of the sail parts from the ends of the spacer rod 12, the three spars may be rolled in the sail parts into a substantially cylindrical package. Of course, if desired, the kite may be collapsed and transported or stored in a flat position.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that various changes may be made therein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims hereto appended.

What is claimed is:

1. A kite including a supporting body, a multi-part covering mounted over a substantial portion of the body, to provide air intercepting sails, one of which spans the top of the body and extends part way down the sides of the latter, additional sails also carried by the supporting body, subjacent the downwardly extending portions of the top sail, the edges of said additional sails, nearest the edges of the lower margins of the top sail being spaced to provide fore and aft air vents at the sides of the supporting body, the proximate edges of the said additional sails being spaced to provide a fore and aft air vent, at the bottom of the supporting body.

2. The kite of claim 1 in which t-e supporting body and associated sails converge inwardly toward the aft end of the body, to provide a relatively large mouth at the fore end of the body, and a reduced air outlet at the aft end of the body.

3. A kite including a multi-part skeleton frame, a multipart sail on said frame, means for securing the sail parts to the frame for holding the parts of the frame together, in suspension, without contact of said component parts with the other, a kite line comprising multiple guys, the free ends of which are severally secured to the skeleton frame parts for coordinating their movements when draft pressure is exerted on the line, the sail parts comprising a top angular sail extending, in part, from the fore to the aft end of the skeleton frame, together with a pair of flat sails, suspended from the bottom of the frame, and extending fore and aft beneath a major portion of the top sail, a spacer rod extending transversely across a fore part of the frame between the top sail and bottom sails, and secured to the extreme lateral margins of the top and bottom sails, the length of the spacer rod determining the span of the sails.

4. The kite of claim 3 wherein the spacer rod is removable to permit the kite to be collapsed and folded or rolled to facilitate storage and transportation.

5. A kite body comprising a skeleton frame including side spars and an intermediate spar, the body also including a multi-part sail, said spars and sail parts being strategically positioned and secured to provide a polygonal kite, the top of which is closed by one of the sails, from the front end of the skeleton frame to a point short of the aft end of the frame, the fore end of the bottom of the kite body receding from the front end of the body and extending beyond the closed top of the body, the body being vented fore and aft at opposite ends of the body to increase thrust and maneuverability immediately before and after the kite is airborne, by manual draft on the fore end of the kite body.

6. A suspension tension kite including a skeleton frame composed of a plurality of rigid components, none of which are in direct engagement, said frame including spaced parallel side spars lying in substantially the same plane, an intermediate spar between, and lying in a plane parallel to the plane of said side spars, the forward terminal of said intermediate spar lying appreciably below the forward terminals of said side spars, said intermediate spar slanting upwardly and rearwardly with the aft terminal thereof above the aft terminals of said side spars, a spacer rod extending transversely across a fore part of the frame between said side spars and said intermediate spar, means for holding said spars and spacer rod in suspension in predetermined spaced relation, a multi-part sail covering a substantial portion of said frame to provide a polygonal kite body, the body being vented fore and aft at opposite ends of the body to increase thrust and maneuverability immediately before and after the kite is airborne, and a kite line comprising multiple guys, the free ends of which are severally secured to said spars and spacer rod for coordinating the movements thereof when draft pressure is exerted on the line.

7. The suspension tension kite of claim 6 wherein said multi-part sail includes a top sail extending from the fore to an intermediate part of the skeleton frame, the forward extremities of said top sail being anchored to the forward terminals of said side spars, the aft intermediate margins of said top sail being anchored to intermediate parts of said side spars, the aft extremity of said top sail being fixed to the aft end of said intermediate spar and the lateral margins of said top sail being secured to the terminals of said space rod, a pair of fiat sails suspended from the bottom of said frame and extending fore and aft beneath a major portion of said top sail, the fore end of said fiat sails receding from the front end of said top sail, the aft end thereof extending beyond the aft end of said top sail, each of said fiat sails being of substantially triangular shape, the larger ends of the flat sails being anchored to opposite ends of said spacer rod and to the forward end of said intermediate spar, and the aft ends of the fiat sails being secured to the aft ends of said side spars, thereby providing air vents at the bottom of the kite body between the flat sails and at the sides of the kite body between each of the fiat sails and the top sail, said sails converging inwardly toward the aft end of the body to provide a relatively large mouth at the fore end of the body and a reduced air outlet at the aft end of the body.

8. The suspension tension kite of claim 7 wherein said sails are equipped with tension lines extending to said spars and spacer rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 770,626 Bell Sept. 20, 1904 856,838 Bell et al. June 11, 1907 1,579,473 Dahl Apr. 6, 1926 2,134,403 Holland Oct. 25, 1938 2,744,701 Robey May 8, 1956 

1. A KITE INCLUDING A SUPPORTING BODY, A MULTI-PART COVERING MOUNTED OVER A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE BODY, TO PROVIDE AIR INTERCEPTING SAILS, ONE OF WHICH SPANS THE TOP OF THE BODY AND EXTENDS PART WAY DOWN THE SIDES OF THE LATTER, ADDITIONAL SAILS ALSO CARRIED BY THE SUPPORTING BODY, SUBJACENT THE DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS OF THE TOP SAIL, THE EDGES OF SAID ADDITIONAL SAILS, NEAREST THE EDGES OF THE LOWER MARGINS OF THE TOP SAIL BEING SPACED TO 